Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-38104

Memory Safety in Microsoft Windows Server 2008 r2

Memory Safety
Published
09 July 2024
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.018 77th percentile
Risk Priority 72 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-38104 is a high-severity Untrusted Pointer Dereference (CWE-822) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Server 2008. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 23% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

The vulnerability is a remote code execution flaw in the Windows Fax Service, tracked as CVE-2024-38104 with a CVSS score of 8.8. It affects the fax component in supported Windows operating systems and is associated with weaknesses in improper input validation and out-of-bounds memory access.

An attacker with low-privileged network access can exploit the issue without user interaction to achieve arbitrary code execution, resulting in full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact on the target system. The attack vector is rated as remotely exploitable over the network with low attack complexity.

Microsoft Security Response Center advisories for this CVE detail available security updates that address the vulnerability through patching of the affected fax service components. Organizations are advised to apply the updates according to their standard deployment processes to eliminate the exposure.

EPSS scores for the CVE reached a peak of 0.0913 before settling at the current value of 0.0675, indicating modest post-disclosure interest without evidence of widespread exploitation.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Windows Fax Service Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CWE(s)
CWE-822CWE-119

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1055 Process Injection Stealth
Adversaries may inject code into processes in order to evade process-based defenses as well as possibly elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-30090Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2024-26252Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2024-35250Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2023-36033Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2024-43553Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2024-20664Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2024-20680Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2024-37969Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2024-20663Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2024-37982Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507

Affected Assets

microsoft
windows 10 1507
≤ 10.0.10240.20710
microsoft
windows 10 1607
≤ 10.0.14393.7159
microsoft
windows 10 1809
≤ 10.0.17763.6054
microsoft
windows 10 21h2
≤ 10.0.19044.4651
microsoft
windows 10 22h2
≤ 10.0.19045.4651
microsoft
windows 11 21h2
≤ 10.0.22000.3079
microsoft
windows 11 22h2
≤ 10.0.22621.3880
microsoft
windows 11 23h2
≤ 10.0.22631.3880
microsoft
windows server 2008
all versions, r2
microsoft
windows server 2012
all versions, r2
+4 more product configuration(s) — see NVD for full list

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V17.3.2

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and evaluation can discover instances where untrusted data is turned into a pointer and dereferenced.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match

Validating all information inputs stops untrusted values from being accepted and converted into dereferenceable pointers.

SA-8 Security and Privacy Engineering Principles partial match

Secure engineering principles require memory-safe design and coding that structurally avoids buffer-boundary violations.

SI-16 Memory Protection partial match

Memory-protection mechanisms limit the damage from an invalid pointer dereference without stopping the root coding flaw.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly prevent introduction of untrusted pointer handling during development.

DE.CM-09 partial match
prevents

Runtime monitoring of software and data can detect adverse events resulting from exploitation of the weakness.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover instances of this weakness via code review or scanning.

ID.RA-08 partial match
prevents

Receiving and triaging vulnerability disclosures commonly includes buffer-related reports.

PR.AT-02 partial match
prevents

Developer training on secure coding reduces introduction of memory-buffer errors.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching replaces vulnerable code containing buffer-boundary defects.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing can detect pointer-dereference flaws before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development lifecycle includes pointer-safety practices that reduce untrusted pointer dereference risk.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can mandate validation of pointers obtained from untrusted sources.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles discourage direct use of untrusted values as pointers.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid dereferencing pointers derived from untrusted input.

References